With smartphones and tablets having become widely deployed as well as 3G and Wi-Fi based access to Internet, data capture technologies work as an interface between databases and user devices. Example data capture technologies include bar codes, QR codes, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Near Field Communication (NFC). Most of these technologies are used as either a visible or an invisible tag to connect these databases and user devices. The introduction of cloud storage adds extended use of data exchange between data storage and end user devices.
Many households include many different devices simultaneously connected to Wi-Fi access points. This ubiquitous Wi-Fi usage increases electromagnetic fields around the home environment. Despite the usefulness of Wi-Fi, long term consequences for the human body and general health are not clear.
End user devices such as smartphones and tablets are frequently equipped with photo and/or video cameras. These cameras can be used for capturing information presented in different visual forms. The other data capture technologies descried earlier, including bar codes and especially two dimensional (2D) bar codes such as QR codes, have attracted the attention of many researchers and companies due to the potential for inexpensive operation.
Bar codes have been used for mobile applications to deliver a multitude of different mobile services over mobile phones and other mobile communication or computing devices. Such applications range from providing Uniform Resource Locator (URL) information to link a mobile device to the Internet, through to using a bar code as a form of e-ticket for airlines or event admissions. Hence, there is an ever growing demand for higher capacity bar codes, suited for robust application on mobile devices. Traditional approaches to higher capacity bar codes include: (i) using a colored symbol set and (ii) increasing the size of the bar code. There are known limitations for either approach, especially related to mobile devices with compromised, low resolution cameras. The traditional data capacity of 1D and 2D bar codes is severely limited. This severely limited data capacity constrains possible applications of 1D and 2D bar codes, and their primary task is simply linking camera phones to designated Web sites. Additional tasks may then be performed based on the Web site. This operation again is based on using of Wi-Fi or 3G connectivity.
The maximum data capacity of 2D bar codes has been improving over the recent years, resulting in the introduction of newer applications.
Presently, the use of color-based bar code and other symbolic encoding in color space technologies using mobile devices such as camera mobile phones has been limited by the physical size of the actual bar code symbol in relation to the information encoded within, and also by the image capturing mechanism on mobile devices to discriminate or resolve effectively a greater multitude of colors, especially under varied lighting conditions by an inexperienced, lay user. Another limiting factor has been color fidelity of hard copy output devices, such as color printers, in reproducing the true colors of such color based bar code or symbol sets in a color space.
While bar codes can be used to provide 2D encoded data, they have not been used to provide real storage devices and media.
Today, e-readers are popular and widely used with constant growth of different devices. For example, some e-readers allow users to consume content rather than create content. Non-limiting example e-readers can include the NOOK® e-reader from Barnes & Noble, Inc., in New York, United States of America, and the KINDLE® e-reader from Amazon, Inc. The number of people reading books and magazines on such e-reader devices is also growing very fast. Still, most new books for e-readers are acquired online over the Internet, for example through connections such as a cellular network including 3G or 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE), or a wireless network including Wi-Fi, ultimately downloading content directly to an e-reader device. If needed, a copy of the book can be stored online, or “in the cloud.”
This traditional distribution model for e-readers requires content such as a book or video to be delivered, downloaded, and stored in electronic form. If an e-reader needs to perform additional downloading, for example to retrieve additional chapters of a book or video, again the cellular or wireless network is used. As described earlier, a side effect of radio-based technologies such as cellular or wireless network includes immersing users in electromagnetic (EM) fields, health effects of which can be uncertain.
On the other hand, traditional books are becoming less popular due to their size and corresponding storage requirements. Sometimes the cost of traditional book and delivery costs can also be higher than for e-books. However, a benefit of traditional books includes durability. For example, some public and private libraries can contain traditional books as old as a few hundred years. It remains uncertain whether electronic storage devices can be as stable and durable as traditional paper and traditional books over the years. Compact discs (CDs), flash memory, and hard disk drives (HDD) all have limited time before major failure. Similarly, external storage devices are not guaranteed against catastrophic failure or damage.
Traditional book printing has related problems. Traditional paper production is expensive. Furthermore, serious ecological problems can arise, related to use of wood as a source for the paper production industry. Finally these problems can also be reflected in the cost of a traditional book, if traditional publishers and booksellers push these related costs on to consumers. Cost can also be a factor. For example, self-publishing has become popular in the United States. The cost of publishing traditional books makes self-publishing almost prohibitive. For example, publishing houses may not be willing to deal with small quantities of book printing when the risk of losing money can be relatively higher than with larger publishing runs.